US F1 Visa Interview Sample Questions and Answers

Author:
Ashwed Patil

F1 Student Visa Interview is that last hurdle you have to clear before your American Dream becomes a reality. Along with ensuring that you have all the required documentation, you must be thoroughly prepared to answer all the questions asked by the Visa officer (VO). Here are some sample questions and answers we’ve compiled to help you out preparing for a successful US F1 Student Visa interview:

QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR STUDY ABROAD PLANS

1. Why did you choose to study in the US? Why not UK, Canada or Australia?

US Universities are renowned for their quality education and well structured programs. Also, they provide ample of research opportunities as well. American Universities provide a strong foundation of theoretical knowledge as well as emphasize on building practical skills .The global exposure provided by these universities will help me find better career prospects.

2. Why do you want to do Masters?

I wish to pursue a career in XYZ field ahead but I could not learn courses related to it during my undergraduate education. A Masters degree Program will allow me to gain technical knowledge and skills related to my interests and help me advance my career tremendously.

3. What will be your specialization in MS?

4. Who is your current employer?

5. What is your role at your current company?

6. Why do you want to leave your company?

7. Why do you think we should give you visa to study in the US?

I think I should be granted a visa because I am very much determined to study ahead, I am clear on my goals and I have the funds required to sponsor my education.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR UNIVERSITY

1. How many universities did you apply to?

2. Why did you apply to so many universities?

3. How many admits do you have?

4. Which University are you going to?

5. Why this university?

Sample Answer 1: According to a research that I conducted and opinions from seniors studying there, the coursework offered by this university perfectly aligns with my interests. Also, this university has outstanding faculty who work in the same field which provides me ample of research opportunities.

Sample Answer 2: I’m interested in a field called Social Informatics and more specifically, Social Media Mining. This university offers me courses and a wide range of electives that perfectly aligns with my interests. Other universities do not offer me separate courses related to this field. Also, I want to work with Dr. XYZ who is pursuing his research on how to detect fake news on social media sites such as FB. Considering all these factors, I chose this university over the other ones.

6. Did you contact any professors from this university?

7. What do you know about the city where your university is located in?

QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AND ACADEMICS

1. What was your under graduate (UG) major?

2. What was your UG GPA?

3. Why so many backlogs?

During a certain period of my Bachelor’s degree, I could not balance my studies and the co-curricular as well as extra-curricular activities which brought down my GPA. However, I worked really hard in the senior years and scored well in the subjects I am interested in. Now I’m sure that I will be able to pursue my MS with determination.

I took the test during my college examinations so I was unable to study properly for it. The low score is mainly because of the verbal section but I’ve performed well in the Quant section.

6. Why do you want to change your field of specialization? (If applicable)

I majored in Electronics Engineering but we had subjects like Data Structures and Algorithms, Object Oriented Programming etc. which made me realize that my interests were more towards software programming than core Electronics hardware. I have worked with a software company as a Systems Programmer which solidified my belief that I was more aligned towards Computer Science which made me change my field of specialization.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR PLANS AFTER POST-GRADUATION

What are going to do after your MS?

I’m going to come back and work with my employer as a Business Analyst since the demand for this profession is increasing in my home country. In the future, I wish to start a Business Analytics firm of my own.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR FINANCES

1. How much does your school costs?

2. Who is sponsoring you?

3. What does your father and/or mother do?

4. What is your parents’ annual income?

5. Did you take any loan?

6. How are you planning to cover the rest of your expenses?

7. Do you have any siblings? How many? What do they do?

8. Do you have friends and/or relatives in the US?

9. Did you get any scholarship?

Disclaimer

These are just sample questions and answers provided to give you a general overview of how the F1 Visa interview experience is. You should, in no way, try to memorize these answers. The actual F1 Visa interview is very subjective – it varies on a number of factors such as your profile, the courses, financial background etc. You should try to be as original as possible.

About Ashwed Patil

Ashwed is a prospective MS student with interests in Computer Science, Content Writing and Geography. He has secured 8 admissions out of 10 U.S. universities he has applied to. His experience with the arduous MS application process motivated him to guide fellow applicants through online articles and blogs. He has also been deeply involved in teaching underprivileged kids in his hometown, Nasik. An interesting fact about Ashwed - he likes to make imaginary countries out of someone’s personality traits!